Hajj flights to carry Bangladeshi pilgrims to Saudi Arabia will begin on August 27 and continue till September 28. Religious Affairs Secretary Chowdhury Md Babul Hassan said this while briefing reporters at the Religious Affairs Ministry after an inter-ministerial meeting on pre-Hajj preparation.He said, the return Hajj flights will begin on October 8. A total of 98,762 pilgrims are expected to perform Hajj from Bangladesh this year. The number of Bangladeshi pilgrims was 89,179 last year, Hasan said.Of the total pilgrims, 1,600 will go to Saudi Arabia under government management while the rest under private arrangement.He said Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited will carry half of the Hajj passengers while Saudi Arabian Airlines the other half this time.The secretary said the ministry has completed all the preparations to provide all necessary supports to the Hajj pilgrims, including rented houses in Makkah and Medina. The hajj management will successfully be completed this year, he hoped.About the 141 hajj pilgrims who were deceived by hajj agencies last year, Babul Hassan said the cheated people will be able to perform hajj this year by only paying Tk 1,20,000 as airfare.So far, 124 deceived people have deposited money to perform hajj this year, while some of them died by the time and some others are not interested to go to hajj this year, he noted.Wearing mask has been made mandatory for all Bangladeshi pilgrims this year as MERS virus broke out in Saudi Arabia, the secretary said.
